Walker calls for review of NFL stadium funding, says protesting players 'ought to get out' of football

Monday

Oct 9, 2017 at 4:20 PM

Jason Hunsicker @JHunsicker_KDE @jhunsicker_kde

Rep. Nate Walker (R-3) is calling on the Missouri Legislature to review public funding of NFL stadiums in light of ongoing player protests, saying players should be playing football and not bringing outside issues into publicly funded stadiums.

In a press release from Blacklage & Knodell, a political consulting and campaign management firm, Walker states that Missouri has invested millions of taxpayer dollars into NFL facilities for economic development and entertainment purposes.

“Recent protests are impacting viewership, hurting the fan base of the NFL, and putting at risk all of our public investments. NFL stadiums have been a major investment of taxpayer money and the league must remain popular to continue to have a positive impact on our local and state economy,” Walker said in the release.

In the release, Walker said the First Amendment “protects the players’ rights to protest off the field,” but said “political protest” actions were not in mind when the state approved public funding for stadiums.

“Taxpayers invested in a football arena that has now become a political arena. The NFL could have stopped these protests but chose to indulge its billionaire franchise owners and millionaire players to use public facilities to launch their political agendas. Where will it stop, what will be their next agenda item, and what will it cost taxpayers? This must end,” Walker said in the release.

Some NFL players have engaged in a protest in which they sit, kneel or raise a fist during the playing of the National Anthem before games. The players have stated they are trying to call attention to racial issues, injustice and inequality in the United States.

The first player to do so was former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick last year during a preseason game.

About a dozen players continued signs of protest earlier this season. That number exploded in the weeks after President Donald Trump suggested protesting players should be released by their NFL teams.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired,’” Trump said.

In an interview with the Daily Express, Walker said players should stand for the anthem.

“I think it’s the American thing to do,” he said.

“I think we need to be respectful and this is America and when we play the National Anthem we need to be respectful for that.”

Walker said the league should establish a rule to require standing for the anthem. Failure to do so, he said, could have “more consequences to their bottom line.”

Ultimately, he said the NFL, owners and players should stick to football.

“I think they need to think about the public image that they are portraying and they need to play football and not be involved in things that are not football related,” Walker said.

“I think the players need to play football and if they have things to protest about then they need to not play the game. If they’re upset so bad to not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem, maybe they ought to get out of the NFL and do something else.”

Walker said fans avoiding going to games, organizing protests and not watching games on television due to the protests aren’t good for the NFL’s business or the state of Missouri. He’s asking the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Legislative Exchange Council to coordinate in an effort to “challenge the NFL to protect taxpayers’ interest.”

“My main concern is not investing any more money for stadium funding if the players and billionaire owners are going to disrespect our country and disrespect our state,” Walker said.

“We need to get out of the business of subsidizing the NFL or any sports team that is disrespectful to our country, flag or National Anthem.”

Walker said the issues players are calling attention to are not new and “there is a right place to express your feelings and I think we need to work toward equality.”

“I’ve always been opposed to prejudice or any kind of inequality situation,” Walker said. “We can’t just keep putting money into the NFL if they are going to be disgraceful.”

Walker said the state of Missouri has other budget priorities on which it should focus funds.

According to the press release, Missouri used bonds in 1991 to finance $132.9 million for the St. Louis Rams stadium. The state still owes $43.3 million on the stadium, despite the Rams leaving for Los Angeles.

Missouri also approved $25 million in tax credits for the Kansas City Chiefs to move their training facility to Missouri and pays $3 million annually to the Jackson County Convention Authority, which operates the Chiefs’ facilities.

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